Wednesday, June 29, 2011

My Land Rover recently began experiencing a new problem. Luckily, some googling found it to be a known issue and I found many tips for solving it. The symptoms I had were: the alarm would sound randomly (when it was set). Also, sometimes the dash text display would indicate that the hood was open "BONNET OPEN".

Apparently this is because the hood sensor goes bad. It's connected to the passenger side hood latch at the front of the truck. I can buy a replacement sensor for about $12, and pay another $10 for shipping. I found forum posts indicating that it takes about 30 seconds to swap it out. Unfortunately, I'm not the most mechanically inclined, and I cannot figure out how to remove the sensor. Maybe I need to remove the latch. For that, I'd need to buy a new tool, since none of mine fit those holes in the mounting bolts.
Instead, I decided to do what other forum posters had done, short the circuit at the connector. Below is a photo of that connector. I merely connected the two contacts with a wire, then taped it up with electrical tape. I figure I can easily undo that and install a replacement sensor, once I figure out how to do that.
I also might take it to the dealer and have them fix it. But since I'm on my extended warranty, I prefer to collect a few items so that it exceeds the $100 deductible I'd have to pay.

Here are some links, but they're likely to dry up given the obscure topic.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Tom Clancy's book, Dead or Alive, was interesting. I listened to the 20 hour audiobook. It's got plenty of action and not too much boring backstory, largely because most of the characters have been in earlier books. It still has a fair amount of useless filler details that don't add to the story. All in all, this was a nice distraction from the pain as I recovered from some surgery.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Here are a few photos I took last year on my hike to the broad sandstone area northeast of peak 6460. Here's a google map centered on the area. This shot looks south into the canyon.The next two shots look along the big slickrock area, first looking toward Peak 6460, then looking back.Here's a view looking south toward Parunuweep Canyon from the saddle to the east of Peak 6460.And here's a closeup of the rattlesnake I almost stepped on. After returning home, I looked it up and it looks like a Hopi Rattlesnake. I've since bought a handy rattlesnake guide to help me identify them on my trips.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Grand Canyon Parashant National Monument has some scenic landscapes. I returned to California by taking some of the remote back roads through the monument. I did this last year also.I only encountered one other vehicle, and that guy stopped to ask me for directions! Even more odd ... I could give him directions (there aren't that many roads in GC Parashant NM). Here's a map showing the route that I took.I saw interesting rock formations rising up from the scrub.The roads were in good condition, so any car with 7 inches of clearance could have handled it.On my next visit, I plan to drive some of the more rugged roads, such as Hobble Canyon, Jump Canyon, Hidden Canyon. That will be an adventure since I can't find anything about them through google. Here's a photo of the Grand Wash, with the Grand Wash Cliffs off in the distance.For amateur geologists, the USGS has posted a detailed geologic map of the area on this site. (the 32.9MB gwmap.pdf link at the bottom of that page)

Monday, June 13, 2011

I decided to try and hike to the top of peak 6460 on the east side of Zion NP. Last year I hiked to the saddle east of that peak. It's really a nice hike. Here's a google map centered on it.I was surprised this year to see many footprints. There was practically a foot trail from the highway to the sandstone area northeast of the peak. Here's a view from the turnout where I parked.And then again from the bottom of the wash. The hill on the left is easier to hike than it looks.Last year I almost stepped on a rattlesnake along the way. But I didn't see any this time. After some trees, you get to the the back of the canyon.Then turn right up the sandstone. You can see the summit behind the trees in the distance.I turned around just below the summit, after reaching a chest-high shelf. I could have clambered over the rock, but as I stood there looking at the hill ahead, it appeared that there'd be a couple more such obstacles. So I wimped out and turned back. Subsequent googling discovered a site documenting a 13yo boy's hike up that hill. So ... I now have a new nemesis hill. I'll get to the summit on my next trip out there in a few months.

Up there on the hill, I sat to admire the view and watched a peregrine falcon fly past below me. I've seen them in that area before, but they've always been above me.

It appears that this hill is named Lost Peak. I found another site that confirms something I was going to test - the southern slope is hikeable. My plan is to hike up the north ridge and down the south ridge.

For some pleasant hikes on the east side, I recommend this hike and Progeny Peak, for a nice half day of fun.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

I listened to the audiobook version of Seal Team Six - Memoirs of an Elite Navy Seal Sniper by Howard Wasdin. I got this after hearing about that Seal team's involvement in the Osama Bin Laden raid. It was a very interesting book. While I didn't enjoy the parts about his very unpleasant childhood, most of it is about the rigorous training he endured, and the ongoing training he enjoyed as a Seal Team operator. Amazing. It was consistent with the small glimpses I've had through movies and television (e.g., the Military Channel). If you're interested in knowing more about Seal training, then I recommend the book.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Once again, I hiked Progeny Peak. I like this little hill. This time I tried a new route, and ended up following many cairns. It turned out to be the easiest route on the hill. There are short sections of class 3, but otherwise it's class 2, and I avoided all the rocks that slide when you step on them. Now I feel comfortable taking less experienced hikers on this hike.

The weather was great, with morning temperatures in the 70s and calm winds. It took me a while to go up because I was exploring new areas as I went. Descending took about 30 minutes. Here's a google map centered on Progeny. The map below shows the route I took this time (without exploration side trips).The next map shows all the various places I've hiked and explored around this hill. All of those lines are approximate, since it's hard to precisely place my routes and landmarks against the google satellite imagery.On one of my exploration side trips, I discovered that the northwest gully is an easy hike, especially on the west side of the gully.

From the road, you can't see the summit. You can't see much at all. Once you get 20 yards from the road, you can see the arch and the available routes.A little further up the drainage wash you can make out more detail.Sometimes I pause to realize that I probably could have found an easier route up a small section. Here's an example. I turned around to notice that I'd just walked up a rather steep section.As you're walking up the wash, aim for this handy ramp-like feature.Further up, follow the long section of cleaved rock.Here's a shot looking back down that cleaved rock formation.Hearing other hikers' voices, I found them far below me headed for Spry Canyon.The gully on the northwest side of Progeny is indeed hikable. I don't know why I didn't notice this when I was below it on previous hikes. Somebody created this novel cairn. It points the way down, directing hikers to go west from the dual-humped cleaved rock toward the long cleaved rocks I followed uphill.The next shot looks down the traverse toward the double cleaved rock.After that climbing traverse, I walked along this flat shelf traverse.Then I came across another cairn. The tree in the distance was an ideal resting point because of the shade.This is what the summit knob looks like from the shade of that tree.I decided to leave my backpack at that tree and walk the short distance up to the summit.I took a traverse route around the northwest side of the summit knob. Here's a shot looking back at the tree where my pack lies.The route is easy to hike. Not too steep with plenty of footholds to pause if desired.The summit.Hikers have built an elaborate summit cairn. I sure wish they'd build a bench to sit on.

Here's a shot of the summit from the canyon to the south. The next photo is taken from the summit looking south and shows where I was standing when I took the above photo.The route shown here is the easiest route I've found on Progeny. As you can see from my route map, I've hiked all over this hill. Even along this route, I could have gone more directly up the hill - and I have done that in the past. My goal on this day was to explore the NW gully and to see just how easy a route I could find. It was a fun couple hours.

If you're interested, my other posts about Progeny Peak are here, here, and here.